Counting Calories & Feeling Lonely

So many things to update.  I've been to the doctor for my first follow up.  I finally got my stitches removed.  Only one of my incisions had an actual stitch that needed removing, but it was right at my bra line and was making me crazy.  Thank goodness it's out!  I've also been to the nutritionist.  I'm off the purees and onto real food again!!!
 Woohooooo!  Albeit soft food, I'm eating real food again and couldn't be happier.  I wanted to chew so bad that it was making me nuts.  The nutritionist has given me a whole bunch of suggestions for helping slow down my eating and to keep me on track.  I'm excited to move into this next phase.  I gained back 1.6 lbs this week which was a little discouraging, but I'm guessing that it's because of the fact that I'm back on solids.  It's definitely taking some major planning on my part to get in enough calories.  My nutritionist suggests getting in between 60-80 grams of protein, and that hasn't been much trouble.  I shoot to get in between 1000-1200 calories, and have been pretty successful, so it's a little disappointing to see that the scale went up.  I haven't lost anything this past week.  I'm trying not to be disappointed, but c'mon!!  ::mumblegrumble::  I'm going to try and be very active this weekend if I can.  It's a holiday weekend which is ideal for outdoor fun and such.  

One of the challenges that I've been facing since getting banded is that a lot of my friends seem to have forgotten that I like to hang out with them or something.  I've extended invites to go do things, from walking or shopping, to smoothie dates or coffee.  A couple friends have obliged, but they are the same friends that would have done those things anyway.  Unfortunately those in my social circle that I would go out with for drinks or dinner haven't gotten the memo that just because I don't drink and have modified my eating, this doesn't mean that I don't want or need to be social.  I still want to see my friends as much as I did pre-surgery.  I don't have to drink to have fun, as a matter of fact, I've never really been the biggest drinker anyway.  This is an adjustment that I didn't expect to have to make, and it sucks.  I do miss them and I feel cheated that I feel like I had to trade in good times with friends for the procedure.  Maybe I'm reading into it, but I haven't seen the majority since my pre-op diet began and that was nearly 5 weeks ago.  I guess this will just be a part of the process.  It's times like this that I miss being a part of a couple.  It'd be nice to have that support right now.